Oral History Interview with Elliott Ross, May 1, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Elliott Ross, May 1, 2001

Interview with Elliott Ross who joined the U.S. Navy during World War II. He discusses being a landing craft coxswain carrying troops and supplies from ships to the shore in seven invasions: Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Santacristo, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and as an occupation force in Japan after the surrender. He talks mostly about Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan, but also mentions burials at sea and on the beachs, seeing his brother's ship get hit by torpedoes, and the emotional toll of the war.
Date: May 1, 2000
Creator: Cox, Floyd; Misenhimer, Richard & Ross, Elliott
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lowell Dean Cox, February 1, 2005 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lowell Dean Cox, February 1, 2005

Interview with Lowell Dean Cox, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses joining the Navy and serving aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He was on board when the cruiser was attacked by a Japanese submarine and survived for five days in the water before being rescued.
Date: February 1, 2005
Creator: Bryk, Clarence & Cox, Lowell Dean
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Peter Chu, November 1, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Peter Chu, November 1, 2003

Interview with Peter Chu regarding his experiences in China during World War II. Peter's son Alan Chu also participates in this interview. Peter Chu discusses the Japanese occupation in Nanking (Nanjing), China in 1937 when he was 10 years old.
Date: November 1, 2003
Creator: Nichols, Chuck & Chu, Peter
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (open access)

Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Transcript of an oral monologue with Hal Lamar. He reflects on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during his time serving as the Admiral's personal aide and secretary. He describes Nimitz's character and abilities as a leader. Lamar shares anecdotes about visiting wounded men and awarding Purple Heart medals, other officers coming to call, recreating, visiting Tarawa ,and activities at the new headquarters on Guam.
Date: February 1, 1980
Creator: Lamar, Hal
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz transcript

Commander Hal Lamar, USNR (Ret.) Remembers Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Transcript of an oral monologue with Hal Lamar. He reflects on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during his time serving as the Admiral's personal aide and secretary. He describes Nimitz's character and abilities as a leader. Lamar shares anecdotes about visiting wounded men and awarding Purple Heart medals, other officers coming to call, recreating, visiting Tarawa ,and activities at the new headquarters on Guam.
Date: February 1, 1980
Creator: Lamar, Hal
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - March 1, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - March 1, 1945]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing the mail service, his respect for the way Catherine handled her falling out with Mr. Davis, the weather, smoking too many cigarettes, and looking forward to coming home.
Date: March 1, 1945
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - June 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - June 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing visiting Honolulu with Graves, appreciating the scenery of the island, and telling Catherine to tell their congregation that he is stationed on an island in the Pacific.
Date: June 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - July 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - July 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing the mail service, his thoughts on Tooter and Weston renting Floy and Worth's house while they are away, a reminder to Catherine that she need not send him any packages, and watching Joe DiMaggio play baseball.
Date: July 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - January 1, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - January 1, 1945]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing receiving lots of mail after returning from leave, apologizing for not writing more, and mailing Catherine a pink sweater for her Christmas present.
Date: January 1, 1945
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - September 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - September 1, 1944]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing news from home, including Jack Brown's expected return to the states and a chicken dinner with Baby. Catherine also asks after J.D. and expresses her joy that Joe is seeing a dentist.
Date: September 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - August 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - August 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing going to the post office to buy stamps, playing catch with his crew, and sharing Williams' wife's address.
Date: August 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - October 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - October 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing the mail service, being glad that Catherine has been spending time with Dan, asking after Cope, and missing church.
Date: October 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - February 1, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - February 1, 1945]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe expressing her concern over his safety and loneliness due to not having seen him for nine months. Catherine also discusses news from home, including her work on a letter to the shareholders for Mr. Davis and Mrs. Mieler's heart attack.
Date: February 1, 1945
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - November 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - November 1, 1944]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing the letters she has received from him, her tracking the missions he has completed, and Jenny asking after Dan, because he has not written her.
Date: November 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - July 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - July 1, 1944]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing news from home, including having her photo taken with their dog, Teddy, mowing the lawn, and Charlotte returning to Galveston.
Date: July 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - January 1, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - January 1, 1945]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing her celebration of the new year with her friends, having the day off work, and plans to go to the post office with Emma.
Date: January 1, 1945
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - August 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - August 1, 1944]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing news from home, including extra busyness at her job due to Lorraine's absence, going to Ruth Reeger's house with Evelyn, Jessamon's plans to start teaching at a school in San Antonio, Marjorie's promotion, and R.A. Brown becoming paralyzed due to a diving accident.
Date: August 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - December 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - December 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing a slow day, in which he played cards with his crew and saw a Red Skelton film.
Date: December 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - November 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Joe Davis to Catherine Davis - November 1, 1944]

Letter from Joe to his wife Catherine discussing Joe receiving his paycheck, sending Catherine a local newspaper, the weather, and the improvement of the food.
Date: November 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Joseph Emmett
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - December 1, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine Davis to Joe Davis - December 1, 1944]

Letter from Catherine to her husband Joe discussing news from home, including turkey dinner with Gladys and Weston, avoiding a ticket from a highway patrolman, and seeing first lieutenant Johnny Watts, an old boyfriend of Catherine's, at dinner.
Date: December 1, 1944
Creator: Davis, Catherine Dawe
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Thomas Moorer, October 1, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Thomas Moorer, October 1, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Moorer. Moorer grew up in Alabama and received a principal appointment to the Naval Academy in 1929. He shipped out on the USS Enterprise (CV-6) after going into aviation training in 1935. He flew the PBY. After World War II starts, in the Pacific Ocean near Australia, during a reconnaissance mission, he was shot down by the Japanese and managed to get himself and his seven crewmates all out alive. Then the ship he was rescued onto was shot again, and he again rescued six of his original crew and 40 more from the ship. They were beached on a small island and rescued by an Australian plane. From Darwin they went to Perth. After the Battle of Midway, Moorer was transferred to Africa. He discusses the attack on Pearl Harbor. While in the Pacific, he was sent by General Douglas MacArthur to pick up stranded Australian Green Berets on Timor. Macarthur met and spoke with Moorer about traveling to pick the men up. He also encountered MacArthur when MacArthur went to Japan as controller of the occupation, after Moorer was selected to command the Seventh Fleet.
Date: October 1, 2000
Creator: Moorer, Thomas
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cecelia McKie to R. F. Begole - May 1, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Cecelia McKie to R. F. Begole - May 1, 1943]

Copy of letter sent from Cecelia McKie to R. F. Begole, recorded in the letter as 'Mr. Lee (?) F. Degole', regarding Santo Tomas Internment Camp internee Edgar Begole, recorded in the letter as 'Edgar R. Degole'. Letter contains transcribed message broadcast to family from internee on Radio Tokyo.
Date: May 1, 1943
Creator: McKie, Cecelia, 1903-1982
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James T. Murphy, October 1, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with James T. Murphy, October 1, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James T. Murphy. Murphy grew up in Montana and joined the Army Air Corps in May 1941. Once he finished training, he was assigned to the 43rd Bomb Group, 63rd Bomb Squadron. He then went to reconnaissance for the Battle of Midway. He then rejoined the Pacific Theater and pacticipated in skip bombing and flying B17s. He tells the story of receiving his Silver Star from General Douglas MacArthur. He mentions returning to the Air Force in 1949 and remaining in service for 20 years, until he left to join NASA as a civilian. He also mentions writing a book on Skip Bombing in the 1990s.
Date: October 1, 2000
Creator: Murphy, James T.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cecelia McKie to P. R. Lawson - June 1, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Cecelia McKie to P. R. Lawson - June 1, 1943]

Letter sent from Cecelia McKie to Mr. P. R. Lawson, Assistant Treasurer at Manila Electric Company, acknowledging his letter of May 25, 1943. McKie describes her shortwave radio and how she records messages. She explains while she has not heard anyone mention the Manila Electric Company, some internees do mention 'the company'. Letter includes a list of names that the Manila Electric Company may recognize: 'David W. Levitt (Levy) (?); Louis Decoito; George Howard Crosby (?); Thomas P. Condy; Ion (Ronald) (?) Leing (Lane) (?); Lymos (Amos) (Lionel) William Detver'. McKie states that it would be a good plan to send the list of Manila Electric employees to her. She mentions she keeps the letters in a scrapbook, in chronological order, so they are easy to find by date of broadcast message. She requests a map of New York City and Long Island as she hears many messages for New York, Brooklyn, The Bronx.
Date: June 1, 1943
Creator: McKie, Cecelia, 1903-1982
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History